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Officials displeased at prospect of Delta moving jobs

The Metropolitan Airports Commission is displeased at the possibility of Delta Air Lines moving 150 jobs from the Twin Cities airport to Atlanta. But commission officials say they're confident the airline will remain a major employer here.

Delta has told employees the company may consolidate operations and shift 150 warehouse jobs from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Atlanta.

Airport spokesman Patrick Hogan said that when Delta paid off a loan late last year from the airports commission, it released the airline from a commitment to keep at least 10,000 employees in Minnesota. But Hogan says Delta is locked into a long-term lease to keep a hub in the Twin Cities.

"There are well over 400 flights a day out of MSP. The hub remains strong," Hogan said. "It's that air service, I think, that is really going to create the jobs going forward."

The possibility also upsets Gov. Mark Dayton, who believes Delta CEO Richard Anderson had promised to keep the airline's employment steady in Minnesota. Dayton plans to speak with Anderson about the jobs.

"The governor met in November with president Anderson from Delta and the governor understood at the time that the job situation in Minnesota would not change for Delta," said Katharine Tinucci, the governor's press secretary. "So, to hear any reports that they may be moving more jobs from Minnesota is very concerning to the governor."

Delta has moved at least a few hundred jobs south in the past year. The airline still maintains more than 12,000 employees in Minnesota.